Over 600 pumpkins carved in every shape and pattern lit up the night on Thursday (October 3) at Auckland Castle as a sneak preview before it finally opened for the spooky season until Halloween.
For £15 per adult and £11 per child, you can walk through the historic castle grounds and spot pumpkins carved with fun shapes; everything from Harry Potter, The Wizard Of Oz, and Beetlejuice to name but a few.
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) Entry will be staggered every half hour on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between 4 – 27 October and daily from 28 – 31 October.
As a big fan of all things Halloween, I was quite looking forward to the trail and seeing everything lit up at night and gander at just how many different carving shapes the team came up with.
But, I did have quite high expectations purely based on the promise of hundreds of pumpkins. That’s a tall order.
I wondered – will it all work? Will there be enough to cover the whole trail and feel complete?
But, let’s go back to the beginning.
You start your night by grabbing or redeeming your tickets at Auckland Tower before taking a short stroll through the gates and into the castle grounds with staff being on hand to point you in the right direction.
Taking a right, you are first welcomed by a collection of pumpkins of all different sizes atop hay bales reading ‘Pumpkin Forest’ – and from there, the magic begins.
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) Each section or part of the section was arranged in a rather linear and cohesive manner – meaning you wouldn’t come across a chicken-shaped carving alongside one of a seahorse.
First, you see farm pumpkins sitting around a barn door beside intricately designed Wizard of Oz pumpkins set up like scarecrows which even included the matching costumes.
Elphaba, Glinda, Dorothy, you name it – you could spot it overlooking the gorgeous rolling fields of County Durham.
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) Straight ahead into a more wooded area through a beautifully created pumpkin archway saying ‘welcome’ was the second and I would say more scenic part of the trail.
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) A fence made of fairy lights guides you through trees wrapped with the same, but often colourful lights through the ‘forest’ where you could see pumpkins with leaf carvings, flowers, film and TV characters, and more.
This, I think was part of the fun. Walking through wasn’t just looking at the same old classic spooky face carvings but it was figuring out which each one was.
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) Families with young children were doing the same as I passed them, little ones gasping at their favourite Disney princess which was so perfectly captured in pumpkin form.
The lights, theming, and music were simply stunning and immersive making you feel like you had stepped into a Halloween movie; unable to hide smiles, gasps of ‘wow’, and laughter as you rambled through.
My personal favourite was a section of Christmas pumpkins depicting a candy cane, Santa, and a sleigh – but beside it was also a very large, fat pumpkin that said ‘too soon?’.
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) No doubt this would have gone straight over the heads of tots walking by but I thought it was a very humorous gag that was clearly put there with a lot of thought and to score some laughs out of parents.
There is another, more open section where you find a nautical, seaside-style installation complete with a lighthouse cut-out, blue lights for the ocean, and yellow streaks for sand.
I really admired and enjoyed the creativity of this, complete with music from the Little Mermaid as a fun final foray before exiting to a pop-up café.
Overall, I have to say my trip to the Pumpkin Forest was nothing short of a delight.
You don’t have to be young to find glorious wonder at hundreds of thoughtfully crafted pumpkins which were, to my amazement, all done by the team at The Auckland Project themselves.
Plus, as I confessed in a Facebook Live I did at the event, there is no way you would be able to leave without getting inspiration for your very own pumpkin carving later this month.
So, if you live in County Durham and are looking for something spooky to do this month I’d say get down to the Pumpkin Forest and take the whole family for a scarily good time.
To get tickets, click here.
Here’s a few more pictures from the evening:
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Caitlin and Ollie Smith aged 10 and 6. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Grace Goddard, 5, Henry Lawson, 7, and Orla Cook, 2. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
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Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
